Concrete form structure for walls



May 21, 1968 w. K. H. GREGORI CONCRETE FORM STRUCTURE FOR WALLS 2Sheets-Sheet Filed Aug. i966 I N VEN 1 OR. WERNER K. H. GREGORI FIGZATTORNEYS May 21, 1968 w. K. H. GREGORI CONCRETE FORM STRUCTURE FORWALLS 2 Sheets-Sheet :5

Filed Aug.

INVENTOR.

WERNER K. H. GREGORI ATTORNEYS United States Patent 0 3,383,817 CONCRETEFORM STRUCTURE FOR WALLS Werner K. H. Grcgori, Oakville, Ontario,Canada, assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to RoberliohniLimited, Nassau, Bahamas Filed Au". 3, 1966, Ser. No. 570,072 Claimspriority, application Canada, June 2, 1966,

961,888 7 Claims. (Cl. 52309) This invention relates to buildingconstruction and is particularly concerned with a form for pouringconcrete walls characterized in that the form is left in place followingpouring of the concrete and provides finished wall surfaces on bothsides of the wall.

In the construction of concrete walls, both outer walls and partitionwalls, it is common practice to build a temporary form with plywood orthe like sheets which are braced to resist the Weight of the concreteuntil the latter has hardened. Following setting of the concrete theforms are removed and the wall finished in any one of a number ofdifferent ways, depending upon the type of wall concerned and thedesired finish. Internal walls which form permanent partitions arenormally covered with lathing or other material capable of holdingplaster and the plasvide a concrete form structure for walls which maybe left in place following setting of the concrete and which furtherprovides finished surfaces to the wall.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a structure of theabove type which is equally adaptable to the construction of interiorwalls and exterior walls.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a structure of theabove type which can be made inexpensively and which provides internalinsulation against heat and cold and which is adapted to provideconcrete reinforcing rod material within the space which receives thepoured concrete.

It is a further object of the invention to manufacture a concrete formstructure of the above type which is light in weight as to be easilytransportable to the building side and easily handled when beingarranged for reception of concrete.

The above and further objects of the invention will be better understoodfrom the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof as readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings which illustrate this embodiment of the invention FIG. 1is an exploded perspective view of a concrete form structure inaccordance with the invention showing the various components making upthe structure as spaced apart from one another for better illustration;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken approximately along theline 22 of FIG. 1 but showing a portion of the structure of FIG. 1 inthe assembled form of the structure; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the structure of FIG. 1 in its assembledform and illustrating the manner in which the structure is oriented whenused.

Referring to FIG. 1, the concrete form structure of the inventionessentially consists of a pair of parallel spaced panel members 10 and12 which are held together by a 3,383,817 Patented May 21, 1968plurality of tension members 14. The panel members are characterized bycomposite construction including an outer panel element which is capableof forming a finished outcr wall surface. Thus, for example, the outerpanel elements 16 may be formed of a gypsum board such as the sheetmaterial sold under the trade name Gyproc by Gypsum, Lime & AlabastineCanada Ltd. In this case, the structure would be used to form aninterior partition wall. Of course, as other materials apart from gypsumare used as facings on interior Walls, it is within the scope of theinvention that similar alternatives might be used as the outer panelelement in the panel members 10 and 12. Where the structure is used toform and to eventually constitute part of an exterior wall for abuilding, the panel member which is exposed to the weather willnaturally be made of a weather resistant sheet material.

The second component used in the panel members 10 and 12 is preferablyformed of a rigid plastic foam having good thermal insulationproperties. This inner panel element 1-8 is adhesively attached to theouter panel element 16. As various different foam materials as well asdifferent materials for the outer panel element 16 are possible wi.hinthe scope of the invention, the adhesive selected will vary with thedifferent materials. A preferred combination of these materials isgypsum board and a rigid expanded polystyrene foam such as the rigidfoam sold under the trade name Styrospan by Dow Chemical of CanadaLimited. An excellent adhesive for gluing these two particular materialstogether is a rubber based adhesive sold under the trade name BondmasterK 727 by the Adhesive Products Division of the Pittsburgh Plate GlassCo.

Before the foam 18 is fixed by adhesion to the outer panel element 16,the foam is provided with a number of cut-outs 2.0 shaped and sized tosnugly receive the tension members 14. These cut-outs extend completelythrough the foam sheet so that when the foam is glued to the Gyproc thelatter is exposed at the inner ends of the cut-outs. This exposure ofthe gypsum board permits gluing the tension members 14 directly to thegypsum board. In this regard, it should be understood that it is thefunction of the tension members to prevent the panel members 10 and 12from spreading apart when the space between them is filled with cementor concrete. It will also be understood that for this same reason, thetension members must themselves be strong in tension. Thus, whiletension members made of the same rigid foam as is used in the innerpanel elements 18 would be excellent from the point of view of lightweight and good insulation quality, such foam material is not strong intension. Thus, the tension members are formed of a laminate of a centrecore of fibreboard or like material sandwiched between two pieces offoam. The tensionmembers 14 may be made of foamed glass which, becauseit is a foam, has good insulation qualities and is light in weight andalso is quite strong in tension. In either case, the tension members areglued to the surface of the gypsum board which is exposed at the innerends of the cut-outs in the inner panel elements 18. The same type ofadhesive mentioned above is adequate for this purpose. It should also beunderstood that while in the illustrated embodiment of the invention atotal of forty tension members 14 are used, more or less tension memberscan be used depending upon the dimension of the particular structureinvolved.

In its simplest construcdon, the form structure of the inventionconsists of the above described spaced panel members 16 and 1.; and theinterconnecting tension members 14. For certain applications a simpleform structure of this type without providing steel reinforcing rodswith in the poured concrete is sufficient. However, in the majority ofcases it will be necessary to include steel reinforcing and theillustrated embodiment of the invention employs two grids 26 and 28 ofreinforcing rod. It will be appreciated that while two such grids areshown in the drawings, there will be certain applications where only onegrid need be used and other applications where more than two grids willbe required.

To provide means for holding the grids spaced from one another andspaced from the panel members, the top and bottom rows of the tensionmembers 14 are drilled to receive holding rods 30. These are used in thefollowing manner. Following installation of all the tension members 14in one panel member, a first pair of rods are slipped through theapertures 32 in the upper and lower rows of tension members, the twogrids 26 and 28 are lowered down over the tension members and then thefinal two holding rods are slipped through the apertures 34. The grid 26is then tied to the first installed holding rods by a few pieces of tiewire and then the second grid 28 is lifted up and tied to the lastinstalled pair of holding rods. Finally, the second panel member isdropped onto the free ends of the tension members and adhesively fixedthereto. It will be appreciated that where only one reinforcing rod gridis employed or where more than two grids are employed, a similar type ofholding arrangement can be used. It is to be noted that the ends of therods making up the grids are extended on one side as to projectoutwardly from the side of the form structure. This provides overlapwith the next adjacent form structure as required by buildingregulations.

The manner in which the form structure of the invention is used inbuilding a wall is shown in FIG. 3. One or more of the form structuresare positioned as in FIG. 3. The number and/or size of the structuresemployed is, of course, dictated by the thickness and length of the wallbeing constructed. In any case, the concrete or cement is poured intothe centre of the structure as to fill same and allowed to set. Thisdone, the wall is finished. This wall has a centre core of concrete orcement which has been reinforced with reinforcing red as required. ithas two insulation sheets on either side of the poured concrete, and ithas two outer surfaces which require no other finishing.

It is to be noted that the side edges of the form structure are providedwith tongues and grooves as to smoothly mate with adjacent structures.The tongued sides are simply formed by extending the two inner panelelements 18 outwardly beyond the associated side edges of the outerpanel elements 16 while the grooved side edge is formed in the reversemanner by extending the outer panel elements 16 beyond the associatedside edges of the inner panel elements 18. In FIG. 2 the right-hand endof the illustrated structure is a grooved side edge.

Throughout the foregoing specification, reference is made to thebuilding of concrete walls, but it should be understood that the termconcrete is used in a broad sense and that the structure of theinvention is adapted to form and constitute part of walls of anycementitious material.

I claim:

1. A preassembled concrete form structure for use in pouring a concretewall, said structure being intended to be left in place followingpouring of the concrete and to provide finished wall surfaces, saidstructure comprising two side-by-side composite panel members, each ofsaid panel members consisting of an outer finished wall surfaceproviding panel element and an inner insulation panel element formed ofa thermal insulating, fire resistant rigid plastic foam, said innerpanel element being adhesively fixed to the inside surface of said outerpanel element and having a plurality of cut-outs extending therethroughfor the reception of tension members for interconnecting said panelmembers; a plurality of tension members received in opposed pairs ofcut-outs in said inner panel elements and adhesively fixed to thesurface areas of said outer panel elements exposed by said cut-outs insaid foam plastic panel elements, said tension members serving tointerconnect said panel members and to prevent spreading apart of saidpanel members from the weight of poured concrete received between saidpanel members in the construction of a permanent concrete wall.

2. A preassembled concrete form structure as claimed in claim 1 furtherincluding at least one grid of reinforcing rod material positionedbetween said panel members and spaced therefrom.

3. A preassembled concrete form structure as claimed in claim 2 havingtwo grids of reinforcing rod material and further including means forholding said grids spaced from one another and spaced from said panelmembers, said holding means comprising holding rods passed throughapertures in certain of said tension members and tie wire connectingsaid grids to said holding rods.

4. A preassembled concrete form structure as claimed in claim 3 in whichsaid outer panel elements are formed of gypsum board and in which saidinsulation panel elements are formed of expanded polystyrene.

5. A preassembled concrete form structure as claimed in claim 4 in whichone side of said structure is provided with a tongue and in which theother side is provided with a groove, said tongued and grooved sideedges providing means for mating said structure with like structures toform an elongated wall, said grooved side edge having the two outerpanel elements extended beyond the two associated insulation panelelements, said tongued side edge having the two insulation panelelements extended beyond the two associated outer panel elements, saidtwo grids of reinforcing rod having rod elements extending outwardlyfrom one side edge of the structure whereby to provide overlap withreinforcing rod material in adjacent concrete form structures.

6. A preassembled concrete form structure as claimed in claim 5 in whichsaid tension members consist of laminated blocks having a central coreof fibreboard and two outer layers of the same plastic foam materialused in said insulation panel elements.

7. A preassembled concrete form structure as claimed in claim 5 in whichsaid tension members consist of blocks of foamed glass.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,255,562 6/1966 Altschuler52-309 3,292,331 12/1966 Sams 52-405 3,353,315 11/1967 Barker 52-309 XJOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner.

1. A PREASSEMBLED CONCRETE FORM STRUCTURE FOR USE IN POURING A CONCRETEWALL, SAID STRUCTURE BEING INTENDED TO BE LEFT IN PLACE FOLLOWINGPOURING OF THE CONCRETE AND TO PROVIDE FINISHED WALL SURFACES, SAIDSTRUCTURE COMPRISING TWO SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPOSITE PANEL MEMBERS, EACH OFSAID PANEL MEMBERS CONSISTING OF AN OUTER FINISHED WALL SURFACEPROVIDING PANEL ELEMENT AND AN INNER INSULATION PANEL ELEMENT FORMED OFA THERMAL INSULATING, FIRE RESISTANT RIGID PLASTIC FOAM, SAID INNERPANEL ELEMENT BEING ADHESIVELY FIXED TO THE INSIDE SURFACE OF SAID OUTERPANEL ELEMENT AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF CUT-OUTS EXTENDING THERETHROUGHFOR THE RECEPTION OF TENSION MEMBERS FOR INTERCONNECTING SAID PANELMEMBERS; A PLURALITY OF TENSION MEMBERS RECEIVED IN OPPOSED PAIRS OFCUT-OUTS IN SAID INNER PANEL ELEMENTS AND ADHESIVELY FIXED TO THESURFACE AREAS OF SAID OUTER PANEL ELEMENTS EXPOSED BY SAID CUT-OUTS INSAID FOAM PLASTIC PANEL ELEMENTS, SAID TENSION MEMBERS SERVING TOINTERCONNECT SAID PANEL MEMBERS AND TO PREVENT SPREADING APART OF SAIDPANEL MEMBERS FROM THE WEIGHT OF POURED CONCRETE RECEIVED BETWEEN SAIDPANEL MEMBERS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF A PERMANENT CONCRETE WALL.